Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe in August 2022 announced the formation of the African Super League. The Competition will, according to Motsepe, bring together the biggest teams on the continent vying for honors in a league system. The African Super League is expected to start in the group stages where the league has three groups of eight teams each after which qualified teams will go head to head in the knockout stages starting from the round of 16. Some team will be relegated from the league, crossing paths with new incoming teams which will be promoted. ALSO READ: Rwandan clubs, supporters back African Super League Initially launched as CAF Super League, the name was later changed to Africa Football League due to the negative image which was associated with the name Super League which collapsed in Europe a few days after it was launched. ALSO READ: Is the Africa Super League on Rayon Sport’s radar? Announcing the competition, Motsepe emphasized that it will help African football to develop as the crème de la crème of elite teams across the continent look to compete for the trophy. The Super League is one of the most exciting developments in the history of African football. Our objective is to see our clubs compete with the best in the world, Motsepe indicated. The intention is to use 100 Million as Prize money and do that every year so that the club which wins gets $11.5 million. With Africa already having the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup, some pundits of the game believed that the Super League will effectively overshadow the Champions League but from the CAF boss, the Super League is a competition in its own which he insists will not overshadow the Champions League. ALSO READ: Super League will be beneficial for African football, says Nizeyimana The format Initially, 24 teams from various CAF regions were targeted to take part in the maiden edition of the CAF Super League but there have been important changes as some of the teams could not make the grade. According to CAF head of professional football, Muhammad F. Sidat, there have been important changes in the plans for the African Super League. It was to have 24 clubs divided into three geographical groups (North Africa, Central and West Africa and Southern and East Africa); the number has dropped as most of the teams could not make the grade or they opted out on their own. So far the inaugural edition of the tournament which begins in August 2023 will have eight teams namely Petro de Luanda from Angola, TP Mazembe from Democratic Republic of Congo, Egyptian giants Al Ahly, Guinean powerhouse Horoya, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Simba Sports Club of Tanzania, Esperance de Tunis of Tunisia and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa. Some connoisseurs of the game, however, believe that CAF is setting up an unrealistic and an unattainable target especially the huge financial returns clubs project to get. Despite the concerns, CAF remains very committed to the course of the Super League which is now the African Football League and various measures including huge sponsorship packages have already been secured. Again, one big question is “can the competition get people's attention like the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup? Only time will tell.
